This invention relates to grip boots for improving the user's grip on a chuck, especially a keyless chuck. More particularly, this invention relates to plastic grip boots which are insert molded to one or more of the metal parts of a chuck which the user must grip and rotate in order to tighten the chuck on a tool such as a drill bit or in order to loosen the chuck to release the tool. A plastic grip boot is more comfortable to hold and improves the user's grip on the chuck.
Hand-powered, electric-powered, and pneumatic-powered tool drivers commonly include adjustable chucks for holding a tool such as a drill bit. Various chucks have been designed to facilitate adjustment of the spacing of the jaws. One such chuck is a keyless chuck (see, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/099,160, filed Jul. 29, 1993, which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/884,205, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,879, which was a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/449,722, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,673, all of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties). This type of chuck provides manual means for restraining one member of the chuck while a torque is applied to another member of the chuck (either manually or by the power driver) to move a nut in the chuck relative to the jaws and thereby change the spacing of the jaws.
Commonly, a torque is manually applied to a sleeve member of the keyless chuck to effect movement of the jaws and thereby adjust the jaws' grip on a tool. The sleeve member may have a knurled surface to improve the user's grip. In the case of a metal sleeve member, however, such a surface may provide only limited improvement of the user's grip. Although a plastic sleeve member might afford a better grip, such a sleeve would have to be strong enough to meet the requirements of a gripping surface.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide an integral member for improved gripping of a keyless chuck comprising a plastic grip boot which is insert molded to a metal member.